Boston stunned Indiana in six games in the first round last year.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Jermaine O’Neal doesn’t want to talk about last year’s first-round playoff series against Boston.

“Haven’t thought about it. Last year was last year. It’s over,” O’Neal said. “There’s not one time this year where I’ve sat down and thought about last year’s matchup with those guys.”

Who can blame him?

The Celtics eliminated the heavily favored Pacers in six games, marking a bitter end to Indiana’s second-half collapse.

This year, the top-seeded Pacers are looking forward in their quest to snap a string of three straight first-round playoff exits. It just so happens that the eighth-seeded Celtics again stand in their way in a series that begins Saturday.

“Obviously, being eliminated three years in a row, we have a lot to prove,” Reggie Miller said Friday. “This is a different team, a different system, a different coach.”

The Pacers have made the transition from erratic also-ran to steady title contender thanks to two former Celtics.

Larry Bird took over as team president last summer. He replaced coach Isiah Thomas with Rick Carlisle, who played for the Celtics from 1984-86.

Bird and Carlisle have instilled a more disciplined, structured environment that has all but eliminated on- and off-the-court distractions that were commonplace during Thomas’ tenure.

“It was time to start playing basketball,” said Bird, who coached the Pacers to the NBA Finals in 2000. “You get paid to play, paid to put a show on for your fans, and it’s all about winning.”

There’s been plenty of winning this year. A franchise-record 61 victories have given the Pacers homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. They’ve avoided the slumps that plagued them in the past, never losing more than two games in a row.

“We’re a totally different team,” sixth man Al Harrington said. “We’re more confident. We know we can win. That’s going to carry us a long way this year.”

The Celtics hardly resemble the team that used hot shooting in last year’s playoffs to shock the Pacers.

John Carroll took over as coach in late January. He replaced Jim O’Brien, who resigned over philosophical differences with basketball boss Danny Ainge.

The Celtics traded Antoine Walker, who played a big role in beating the Pacers in the playoffs, and continued to overhaul their roster, making big deals with Cleveland and Detroit to get guards Ricky Davis and Chucky Atkins.

Davis and Atkins have helped, but the Celtics have lost five of their last six games.

Carroll knows it will be an uphill climb against the team with the best record in the NBA.

“We’re going to see a well-oiled machine that, if you don’t come with your A’ game, will make you look silly,” Boston coach John Carroll said.

That game centers on Paul Pierce, the team’s leading scorer who hit for 40 points in Game 1 last year and set the tone for the upset.

Pierce will have his hands full with Ron Artest, a favorite for defensive player of the year, in a premier matchup.

“It’s a huge key to the series,” Carlisle said. “We’re going to have to help Ronnie as much as we can.”

Artest said he respect’s Pierce’s ability, but hardly seemed concerned on Friday about the considerable task awaiting him.

“He’s tough,” Artest said. “But I’m pretty strong, too, so I’m not worried about it.”

If Artest is successful, the Pacers’ chances of advancing in the playoffs for the first time since their title run in 2000 increase dramatically.

The Pacers have talked all season about their hopes to get out of the first round.

After such an overwhelmingly successful regular season, that goal hardly seems adequate.

“The NBA championship,” O’Neal said when asked what it would take to call this a successful season. “Anything else won’t be civilized for us. There’s no consolation prize.”